Granger Cobb was an American retirement community executive who built the largest assisted living company in the United States.

[7] While at UCLA he worked as a broiler scrubber and waited tables at the Chart House in Westwood, Los Angeles, where he met his future wife Tina.

[8] In 1989, he and his wife Tina sold their personal home and cashed in her teacher pension to finance their first senior living community.

Merger explorations began in earnest in 2013 and culminated with a Brookdale Senior Living $2.8 billion deal announcement[15] on February 20, 2014.

[20] While leading these companies, Cobb also served many industry organizations including as member of the board of directors of the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care, the American Seniors Housing Association, the Assisted Living Federation of America, and the California Assisted Living Association.

[6] The official Emeritus Senior Living tagline was not only used in advertising but was used to guide company operations: "Our family is committed to yours.

"[24] When challenges arose during the development of the controversial PBS Frontline television program on senior living, Cobb agreed to appear on camera to discuss issues in retirement communities.

[25]Cobb led the final major growth spurt for Emeritus by taking over the operations of 38 communities from Merrill Gardens in California, Washington, and six other states.

[3] In his 2012 court testimony, Cobb described his duties as primarily dealing with two areas: building infrastructure for operations, financial and regulatory components; and "looking out" for "three months, one year, three years, five years to help develop the strategic direction for the company"[26] Cobb worked to expand the professional operations of retirement communities through industry organizations and by personally teaching at Washington State University, in a course for Senior Living Management in the WSU Carson College of Business, School of Hospitality Business Management.

[31][32] The institute follows Granger Cobb's passion to serve senior citizens by focusing on a transdisciplinary integrated approach to senior living operations, including hospitality, psychology, nursing, computer science, food science, human development, and entrepreneurship.